Residents hold ‘End Factory Farming’ and other signs on Lincoln High Street. Photo credit: Martin Pope.
A peaceful protest took place on Lincoln High Street on Thursday 15 October with locals calling for an end to factory farming in Lincolnshire.
Some 37 residents came together to ask Lincolnshire decision-makers to commit to no new factory farms in the county.
Lincolnshire is the UK county with more factory farms than any other – and is suffering from river pollution and poor air quality as a result, residents say.
A petition urging Lincolnshire politicians and councillors to “reject all planning applications for new or expanding factory farms” has collected more than 2,700 signatures. [1]
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) is supporting residents across Lincolnshire to oppose factory farms locally. Presently, there are at least 12 active applications for new and expanding intensive chicken farms in Lincolnshire, on top of the 200 or so factory farms already in operation. [2]
Susan Buckley, a retired resident who attended the protest, said:
“With 200 factory farms, Lincolnshire has become the factory farming capital of the UK. This industrialisation of the countryside is causing the suffering of millions of animals, destroying the quality of life of local communities and polluting our rivers. Planning applications are still flooding into council offices. It's time to say no more.”
Susan Buckley at the protest in Lincoln. Image credit: Martin Pope.
Jen Davey, a language teacher campaigning against a poultry unit proposed near the town of Wragby, said:
“People claim that intensive chicken farming is good for local jobs and food security, but it actually replaces skilled workers with automation. In addition, it makes us more at risk from global supply shocks as soy feed and chemicals come from overseas. We’re not against farmers but what we need is a truly sustainable way forward for food production.”
Maya Pardo, Director at Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF), said:
“Factory farming is immensely harmful to animals, the environment and local communities. Birds in intensive chicken farms are bred to grow so fast that their lives are filled with pain, while the particulate matter released by factory farms has been linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and dementia. We urgently need a food system transition away from intensive animal farming and towards home-grown, plant-rich protein like legumes and beans.”
Last month, East Lindsey District Council approved another intensive poultry unit (IPU) that will confine 1.35 million chickens a year in four sheds, despite residents’ concerns. [3] Legal action is ongoing. [4]
However, another IPU in Ingleby, West Lindsey will no longer be built after a successful legal challenge by CAFF. [5]
In the UK, 85% of farmed animals are factory farmed. [6] Factory farming is a risk to the UK’s national security, a government report has warned, since around half the UK wheat crop feeds industrial chickens, as well as a large imported South American soy feeds factory farmed chickens. The production of animal feed is a leading cause of deforestation worldwide. [7]
Animal agriculture is responsible for at least 16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. [8] The Climate Change Committee recommends the UK reduce meat consumption by 25% by 2040. [9]
ENDS
Word count: 548
Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) works with residents across the UK to review planning applications for intensive farms and submit strong, evidence‑based planning objections. The organisation has helped communities block and overturn multiple intensive poultry unit applications when councils overlooked key environmental and animal‑welfare issues.
See high-quality photos here: https://show.pics.io/lincoln-protest-15-10-26
All images in this file, on our social media and on our website can be used with credit to Communities Against Factory Farming under ‘fair use’ for the purposes of reporting.
For information or further comments, please contact:
Daniel (Press Back Office), press@caff.org.uk
Notes for Editors:
[1] https://www.caff.org.uk/stop-factory-farming-being-outsourced
[2] https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/latest/news/cic-regional/
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd08ny4gv9jo
[4] https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/block-a-cruel-factory-farm/
[6] https://www.ciwf.org.uk/our-campaigns/factory-farming-map/
[7] https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/issues/agribusiness/